Rifleman
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In these fast and furious days of spread offenses and empty backfields there is one stat that gets overlooked way too often, but it is still as relevant today as it was under General Neyland: field position.
The folks over at Football Outsiders combine all the stats that affect field position during the season and rank all FBS teams against each other. It will surprise no one that this stat correlates very well with winning football. It can even allow some teams low in the recruiting ranks to get to bowl games consistently.
Let's look at Tennessee's Field Position Efficiency rank since 2007:
2015 - 5th (Florida was 4th)
2014 - 19th
2013 - 34th
So, an average of 19 under Butch Jones, with steady improvement each year.
2012 - 47th
2011 - 99th
2010 - 85th
Without Cordarelle Patterson, Derek Dooley put us in the hole with little chance to win games. Even with CP, he was just mediocre.
2009 - 52nd
2008 - 50th
2007 - 46th
Zombie Fulmer remained conservative, but lost the clear advantage that a conservative coach needs to win close games. Kiffin did nothing to turn it around before Dooley and Hamilton tried to Thelma and Louise a proud football program (and nearly succeeded).
The 2016 Vols are not a team you will want to give a short field to, but I have a feeling that the coaching emphasis on special teams under Coach Jones along with placing starters on those squads is going to pay off huge. This is just one more solid example of why we are right to have strong expectations for this team.
In short, Coach Jones isn't just saying Neyland's maxims before the game; he and the staff seem to actually be teaching them to the players.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGWY5hJ46DE[/youtube]
The folks over at Football Outsiders combine all the stats that affect field position during the season and rank all FBS teams against each other. It will surprise no one that this stat correlates very well with winning football. It can even allow some teams low in the recruiting ranks to get to bowl games consistently.
Let's look at Tennessee's Field Position Efficiency rank since 2007:
2015 - 5th (Florida was 4th)
2014 - 19th
2013 - 34th
So, an average of 19 under Butch Jones, with steady improvement each year.
2012 - 47th
2011 - 99th
2010 - 85th
Without Cordarelle Patterson, Derek Dooley put us in the hole with little chance to win games. Even with CP, he was just mediocre.
2009 - 52nd
2008 - 50th
2007 - 46th
Zombie Fulmer remained conservative, but lost the clear advantage that a conservative coach needs to win close games. Kiffin did nothing to turn it around before Dooley and Hamilton tried to Thelma and Louise a proud football program (and nearly succeeded).
The 2016 Vols are not a team you will want to give a short field to, but I have a feeling that the coaching emphasis on special teams under Coach Jones along with placing starters on those squads is going to pay off huge. This is just one more solid example of why we are right to have strong expectations for this team.
In short, Coach Jones isn't just saying Neyland's maxims before the game; he and the staff seem to actually be teaching them to the players.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGWY5hJ46DE[/youtube]
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